Expanding the Reach for Mental Wellness for Better Performance in Sport & Life
Many Varsity coaches struggle to intervene as a mental health ally for their athletes because of numerous factors including a lack of professional mental health training, low confidence in using the appropriate language during an intervention, and an increasingly large amount of duties, responsibilities and athletes to oversee.
We know how difficult addressing mental health can be, and for that reason we have provided you with an easy framework to navigate you and your team through prevention and intervention.
In this athlete-centered approach, we propose an integrated framework to connect athletes with the appropriate mental health circle of care. The coach accomplishes this by using their team allies (ie. assistant coaches, team captains, teammates, athletic therapists). The role of the coach is therefore twofold:
The MHC is a preventative role where the coach focuses on creating a transparent team culture where mental health is openly discussed, accepted as a serious reality, and is addressed with patience, compassion, and empathy. Creating an environment where athletes feel courageous to share their stories, use appropriate mental health language and recognize and intervene when they see a teammate struggle can be effective in early intervention and reducing time off the field of play. This can be achieved by:
Understanding your university’s mental health allies is the simple most effective thing you can do as a coach for your athlete’s mental health. Remember, you do NOT have to have mental health training, you do NOT have to be your athlete’s counselor. Your job to understand the resources and referral process for your athletes, and empower your team allies to refer athletes as well.
Expand the Reach is a web based resource for coaches, athletes of all levels, parents and community organizations to support Mental Wellness, and early intervention for better performance in sport & life.